Gym Socks
by Saiyuri-kun
Summary: jaspidot. human au. very hurt/comfort and not sure if I'm going to finish it. (( first fic after hiatus so sorry if it sucks))
Peridot sat there at her desk at her new job. She had waited for this moment for years, but as the minutes lead into hours her smile slowly faded. She didn't understand. This was supposed to be her dream job. But as she sat there in the chair, staring at the screen blankly, she realized this wasn't making her happy.

She found herself pushing those feelings down and continued with her job for the rest of the day. That day flowed into the next and the next and her perseverance was fading. By the end of the week, she couldn't even get herself to turn on the computer.

Quietly, she slipped into the file room and dug around for a resignation paper. Peridot had never been so completely rash, especially where it counted, but this job…it wasn't for her.

After hesitating for a few minutes, she finally entered the boss's office.

"You're…quitting?" her boss questioned incredulously.

Peridot could only nod, feeling pretty numb.

"But, you-"

"I'm sorry for the lack of notice," she finally piped up, not wanting to be more rude than she already was.

Her boss was left dumbstruck, "…You're always welcome back, if you need the job."

Peridot just off-handedly shrugged and turned to leave without a goodbye.

The drive home was deadly silent.

The door slammed as Jasper came home from work at about eight o'clock. She stumbled through the darkness toward the kitchen. She really fucking hated that there was no light switch near the door, but then again, Peridot was usually home at this time with the lights on.

After cursing at stubbing her toe on something, she flicked on the lights in the kitchen. Jasper jumped when she saw her roommate sitting at the table. How long had she been sitting there in the dark?

As Jasper searched the other's deadpan face, she could tell something was wrong.

"What's going on?"

Peridot looked up for a moment and considered her answer.

"I got fired," she lied with a straight face.

"What?" Jasper gasped in disbelieve as she moved to Peri's side, leaning over, "Why'd they do that? You're, like, super smart; totally overqualified."

"It doesn't matter why they fired me," she rebutted, trying to end the conversation, but unfortunately that was the wrong thing to say.

"Doesn't matter?! Those guys over there don't know what they're missing. Those fucking idiots! Are they still open this late? I'm gonna go over there and give 'em a piece of my mind!"

Jasper started to walk back to the door and Peridot quickly got up. She was surprised that Jasper was sticking up for her for once.

"No, no! It's okay, Jasper!"

"What do ya mean 'okay' you dummy? I'm going to break their skulls with my massive thighs!"

"No, no. I-I lied, alright?" she sighed, looking down at the ground, "Sorry."

"Then, you-"

"I quit," she said in an even heavier sigh.

"Why?"

"Because, because…"

Peridot could feel her throat constricting with the emotion that was bubbling over, but she continued.

"I hated it."

Jasper fidgeted, nervously, scratching her arm, "Wow, you've been in school, like, forever for this and you just-" She quickly realized what had come out of her mouth, but it was too late.

Peridot's eyes, suddenly, welled up with tears. Jasper was about to start apologizing when Peri took a step forward and hugged her. She began to sob loudly into the other's chest. She couldn't believe she had wasted all that time on something that just ended up making her miserable. She had followed what others expected of her; not what she wanted, didn't she?

Jasper wrapped her arms around her short roommate and she could feel Peri melt further into her. Despite the circumstances, Jasper thought this was kind of nice. She was caught up in the moment and she drew a hand up to the back of Peri's head and ran her fingers through the strands of blonde. It turned into a gentle massage when she felt Peridot lean into it.

When the sobs slowed, Peri pulled back and awkwardly stood there looking at the large, wet stain she had left on the other's shirt. Jasper chuckled, lightly.

"Don't worry about it," she said with a lighthearted smile.

Peridot quickly wiped off her face with her sweater sleeve and quietly spoke, not trusting her voice to come out right with a normal volume.

"Why are you being so nice?"

Jasper snorted, "I have a soul, you know."

"Right," she drawled out, rolling her eyes as the corners of her mouth slightly lifted.

Jasper smirked in return, "Feeling a bit better now, eh?"

"Maybe," Peridot teased, walking back to the kitchen table and sitting down, "I still have no idea what to do."

Before Peri could sink back into her sad little bubble, Jasper perked up.

"Wait a sec! You can come work for me. There's a spot that needs to be filled."

Peridot cringed, "The gym?"

Jasper huffed at her offer being rejected, "You got any better ideas? Wanna work at the fast food place down the road?"

Rolling eyes again, she responded.

"Fine. The last thing I want to do is stay home by myself tomorrow."

Peridot woke up the next morning at the usual time she had for the last couple years of her life, but this time she wasn't going to be rushing out the door. She knew that Jasper left for the gym much later in the morning, so Peri decided to make some coffee and actually take the time to watch the sunrise, instead of the usual morning drive where she would shove the car visor over it.

The quiet, slow morning was nice for a couple minutes, but it wasn't long before she grew antsy. Thankfully, Jasper had woken up by then. Peri could hear her mumbling lowly and stumbling around between her room and the bathroom before she came into the kitchen.

"Morning," Jasper announced groggily.

"Hey," Peridot replied as she turned to look at her roommate.

Her thought process stopped for a moment as she took at Jasper's appearance. She never really saw Jasper in the mornings and she was astonished at how good the woman looked. It had never occurred to Peri that the Jasper she usually saw was tired and weary from a long day's work.

"What?" Jasper smirked in her usual cocky attitude.

"No-nothing," she stuttered with a small blush creeping on her face, "So, when are we going to head out?"

"Right now, if you want. You look like you're going to scrape the varnish off that table."

Peridot dropped her gaze to see that she had been unconsciously clawing at the wood of the table. She quickly pulled away in embarrassment.

"Yeah, we should go now," Peri muttered, getting up to put her mug into the sink.

Jasper fished around in her duffle bag for the keys as they stood at the entrance to the gym.

"Didn't see you as someone who would be the one to open up the place," Peri joked.

Jasper chortled within her chest, "Well, duh, I'm the owner."

Peri shot her a surprised look, "What? Really?"

"How do you think I would get you a job here? You don't think I'm capable of owning a business or something?" she asked as she found her key and opened up the doors.

"Not really," Peridot answered frankly.

Jasper laughed at the honesty as she walked inside, "Come on, I'll fill you in on your duties."

After a quick tour, Jasper listed off what she needed Peri to do.

"You'll need to pay attention to all the customers that come in. If they look like they need help, ask them if they need it. Check to see if anyone leaves their belongs lying around. After people leave a machine or mat area, clean it up with the wipes in the janitor's closet. And, for the love of god, if someone asks you to spot them, get me or one of the trainers. I don't need you to injure someone."

Peridot glared, but remained silent.

Jasper chuckled and placed a hand on the other's shoulder, "Just try not to think too much about things for now. You'll figure it out eventually."

"Yeah," she frowned.

The ride home that night was quiet one. Jasper really didn't know what to say because the last thing she wanted was for Peridot to cry again.

When the car stopped in front of their apartment building, Peri spoke up.

"Thanks for the job. I guess it's okay."

"No prob. You're pretty good at cleaning up stuff."

"Well, I have to clean up after you all the time, otherwise I would be buried in dirty gym socks."

Laughing, Jasper playfully punched at her shoulder, "I'm surprised you managed to live with me this long."

"Me, too," she agreed wistfully, "Let's go inside now. I'm really tired."

"'Kay."


End file.
